And How Our Competitors Make Them Worse
As you explore our website, you no doubt notice that SunPower solar panels have one of the best warranties on the market, and the consumer efficiency ratings on SunPower panels are second to none. We logically mention these features frequently. But what makes SunPower panels so much more efficient than those made by competitors? Two components of SunPower photovoltaics are primarily responsible for raising them above the rest.
Crystal Power is Critical to PV
No, we’re not talking about New Age jewelry and pseudoscientific claims. We’re referring to the crystals of silicon used in photovoltaic (PV) panel production. There are two ways that PV manufacturers apply these vital silicon crystals: monocrystalline and polycrystalline formations. With monocrystalline silicon, raw silicon gets heated into a single crystal in the shape of a long bar. That single crystal forms without impurities. The crystal is then cut into thin wafers for use in solar panels. This single crystal method allows clear travel for electrons. It’s a delicate process with an extra step needed for production, but the end result is a very high-quality product. Solar panels using this process are black in color. Polycrystalline silicon involves melting many fragments of silicon in place. Instead of a silicon wafer made from one single piece of silicon crystal, it’s made of multiple crystals. Since the manufacturing process is simpler, it’s often less expensive, but fusing multiple crystal fragments together leads to impurities that limit electron flow. You can identify panels with this configuration by their blue appearance.
Maxeon Technology for Powerful PV
SunPower only uses Maxeon technology in their photovoltaic cell production. This process uses solid copper sheets as the foundation for the cells. Competitors often just use narrow metallic strips for conducting electricity, and that means their panels are much more susceptible to corrosion and damage. That compromises your PV system later on.
There may be no visible way to verify if solar panels are using solid sheets of metal or metallic strips, but you will notice the difference over time. Average solar panels that do not use Maxeon technology lose 0.8% of their ability to generate power each year. With Maxeon technology, SunPower panels only lose 0.3% every year, on average.
Standing Behind the PV Product
With all of these built-in superiorities, SunPower puts a 25-year warranty on each of their PV panels. If any of your panels lose more than 8% of their original power output during the 25-year warranty, they are replaced at no cost to you. That’s certainly a better deal than most competitors – their average warranty kicks in only if the loss is more than 19%, and you often have to take care of shipping yourself! And if any issues somehow arise with your SunPower PV panels, Solaron is happy to help resolve them.
If you’d like to see how a Solaron PV installation would fit into your life, we offer free consultations. Please give our agents a call or schedule an appointment here on our website. We’d be happy to show you how SunPower’s technology is a better choice for you.